Sniff
by Shi-Toyu
Summary: When Bucky's Wolf takes over, it leads to some rather interesting situations with a certain genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Werewolf!Bucky. IronWinter Rated for language
1. Chapter 1

Sniff

A/N: Just so everyone is aware, a Drider is a half-spider creature from Dungeons and Dragons.

"Imagine werewolf!Bucky, semi-feral after Hydra, getting out of his containment and running into Tony. Imagine that, instead of mauling/killing Tony, he turns into a complete puppy around Tony, to everyone's surprise."

There was just something about the Avengers tower that absolutely, 100% drove Bucky out of his mind. The HYDRA bases had never been like that. They'd always been scrubbed down of scents, with only the occasional smell of blood or more vile things drifting from the cell block or the interrogation rooms. Even on missions, Bucky had never encountered a smell that called to his Wolf like this one did. It told Bucky to give in to his instincts, to run wild and come find whatever it was that tempted him so.

But he couldn't do that. Steve was counting on him. He was here to break free of what HYDRA had turned him into, not give in to it. He wanted the Wolf they'd put in him gone, even if part of him howled in pain at the prospect. He would not let this scent get the better of him. It was just a smell, nothing more, nothing he couldn't handle. That resolution lasted him all of three weeks and, surprisingly enough, it was Natasha that he managed to get past when the Wolf finally overcame him.

He hadn't even intended it to happen. He was usually well in control when they brought him food, which they did three times a day because he was confined to his room until they could be sure he was stable. His idea, not Steve's. It was just that the scent got so much _stronger_ when they opened the door and let a burst of new air in. It probably didn't help that he hadn't slept in the last 72 hours. He'd knocked her aside and made a run for it before he'd even realized what was going on. The transformation had taken over by the time he'd made it to the stairwell.

His paws found the ground easily without him having to break stride. The HYDRA technicians had done well, his metal arm seamlessly shifting to match his alternative form. His silky black coat shone even in the dim light and he raised his muzzle to sniff at the air. The scent wasn't as strong here, but he could tell the source was only a few floors away. He didn't even have to think before he was bounding up the stairs, ears flicking around at every sound to make sure he wasn't being followed. No doubt Natasha would not be far behind him.

It was three floors, in fact, before the scent from under the door told him he'd found the right place. He pulled the door open with his teeth, not caring to shift back even partially for such a simple task. The Wolf would not allow it. He was only focused on one thing.

The carpet on the other side of the door was plush and soft, pleasing to have under his paws. The HYDRA bases had all been concrete. The Wolf enjoyed the comfort as he trotted into the space. He'd been let out in some type of foyer-come-living room that was thankfully unoccupied. The scent led his across the room and down a hallway on the other side, passing several additional rooms he ignored in pursuit of his goal. A voice spoke from overhead, JARVIS, what was left of his mind foggily supplied, but the Wolf paid it no heed. The voice had no body and thus could do him no harm.

The room at the end of the hall was spacious, dark and quiet except for a bit of a glow coming from a lump on the bed and a faint humming that the Wolf could only pick up because of his enhanced hearing. The scent was everywhere here, filling the space like the warmth of a fire, and the Wolf would have been content to just lay down for a nap except that he wanted to find the source of it. Cautiously, he crept closer to the bed, mindful now that the lump was actually a person.

The man lay on his back, tan skin and the circle of light in his chest exposed except for what was covered by his low-slung sleep pants. If they were both standing, the Wolf's back would easily reach the man's waist. His covers were pushed off to one side and a single hand hung over the side of the bed. The Wolf sniffed at the appendage, his cold nose making the man whine in protest and shift a bit in his sleep. It hardly mattered because a moment later the Wolf was all but climbing onto the bed in his excitement and desire to be close to the man. Yes! This was what he had been looking for! This man was the source of the scent!

"Wha- _ **OH, HOLY FUCK SHIT BALLS!**_ "

The man flailed wildly, jostled awake by the Wolf's assault and scrambling back until he toppled off the other side of the bed. Tail wagging with excitement that his person (because he was certainly the Wolf's now that the Wolf knew he gave of such an amazing, delicious scent) was up and active, he followed after the man.

"Woah! No! Hold on! Uh, uh, fuck! Sit, boy!"

The Wolf's rump hit the mattress like it'd been super glued in place and he whined at not being able to go to his person. He could smell the fear on the man now, intermingling with his natural scent. He didn't want his person to be afraid. Why was his person afraid? The Wolf could help! The Wolf would keep him safe! He would never let anyone hurt his person!

"Oh, thank fuck you take commands! I totally thought you were gonna kill me. How the Hell did you even get _out_ anyway?"

The scent of relief flooded the air as his person slid down the wall to sit on the floor. His person thought the Wolf would hurt him? That wasn't right! He would never hurt his person! The Wolf whined again and lay down with his muzzle on his front paws so they could be more on level with each other. His person gave his a quizzical look and the Wolf edged a little closer, tail wagging hopefully. He could be good, see? He wasn't a threat. His person's brows furrowed.

"Sir," the voice without a body spoke again, "I have alerted the others to Sergeant Barnes's presence and they are on their way."

His person's gaze flickered upward and a small smile crossed his face.

"Thanks, J. Not so sure I'll be needing the backup, though…"

Slowly, every line of him expressing caution, his person moved into a kneeling position. He held one hand out, not in a threatening way, but slowly reaching for the Wolf. The lycanthrope's frame nearly quivered with the desire to throw himself at his person, to smother him with licks and love and affection, but he held himself back. His person was skittish, like a rabbit, the Wolf decided, and needed to be treated carefully. The Wolf had to let his person make first contact.

The hand descended softly onto the top of the Wolf's head. It rested there a moment, tentative, before rising up and patting him again. His person was still looking at him cautiously, but there was a hint of a smile on his face, too. The Wolf's tail wagged a bit more, which startled a laugh out of his person. It was a good laugh. The Wolf wanted to hear it more often. His person seemed more confident now, and moved his hand to rub at one of the Wolf's ears. He leaned happily into the touch.

"And here Steve said HYDRA had sent you near-feral. I guess that recovery treatment is coming along pretty well, huh?"

The Wolf tilted his head a bit to lick at his person's arm, right above the elbow since that was what he could reach. His person chuckled and moved to sit next to him at the foot of the bed, a second hand moving to join the first. They migrated to scratch along his back and the Wolf swore he would never, ever, let his person out of his sight ever again. He rolled over so the man could access his belly. It was utter bliss. Things probably would have been fine from there if footsteps hadn't sounded in the hallway.

"Tony!"

The Wolf's head whipped around, body twisting to get his feet under him and hackles rising. He recognized that voice. It was the woman's voice, the one who smelled of blood and spiders, the Drider. The Wolf remembered shouldering her out of the way, checking behind himself to make sure she wasn't following. She was a threat and his person had to be kept safe! The Wolf knocking his person onto his back and covered the man's body with his own, crouching low over him so their bellies were pressed together and his fangs bared in a snarl. The female froze in the doorway, horror and fear flooding her scent.

" _Oh, God-_ "

"No! No!" His person wiggled a bit as he spoke but the Wolf only hunkered down more until he stopped. "He didn't bite me! I'm fine!"

The she-Drider attempted to take another step into the room and the Wolf growled loudly, warning her away. He would not let her near his person. Her eyes darted between the two on the bed.

"I think," his person spoke again, voice not nearly as panicked as before, "he doesn't want you in here."

"I'm not leaving you, Tony. Don't worry, the others are coming and we'll get you out of this."

She sounded determined and the Wolf's growl had become a consistent rumble that filled the entire room. His person brought a hand up to run soothingly down his side and the Wolf saw the woman track the movement. Good. Let her know that this person was his and she needed to back off.

"I, uh, I think that might actually make things worse. He's wound up tight as a spring coil as it is."

"Has he hurt you?"

The Wolf's snarl of ferocity made her flinch, which brought him no small amount of pleasure to see. His person began scratching him right beside the scar tissue of his bionic limb in response and it mollified his rage to simple indignation. How could she think he would hurt his person? Why did they all seem to think that?

"No. And I don't think he's going to. He was actually kinda…puppy-ish before you showed up."

Her eyebrow arched in what was clearly disbelief, but she nodded anyway.

"I can see about holding them back. JARVIS?"

"Already done, Agent Romanov. The Avengers are currently on standby in the stairwell, but Captain Rogers has voiced his desire to approach the room." JARVIS paused. "If I may, between the vampiric serum in the Captain's veins and his familiarity with Sergeant Barnes, he has the highest likelihood of keeping the situation calm."

The she-Drider seemed to consider this, weighing the options. Driders were always such calculating creatures, the Wolf knew. Finally, she nodded.

"I think it could be a good idea. Stark?"

"Aw, you don't think I'm dead anymore so now I'm back to Stark? That hurts, Nat. Really." She glared at him, eyes flashing completely black and curved fangs beginning to poke out over her lower lip. The Wolf fidgeted. He hated fighting Driders, too many limbs. "Okay, okay! I think its fine! Let's just not have an all-out battle before he gets here, shall we? I'd really hate to get blood all over this carpet. I _just_ had it redone."

"I have relayed your message and the Captain will be with you shortly."

The Wolf didn't like it, didn't like that there was someone else coming that could threaten his person. His person _had_ invited them, though. Had he absolutely no regard for his own personal safety? His grumbling was interrupted by footsteps coming toward them. They weren't running, and the carpet muffled them a great deal, but they were still clear the Wolf's ears. The Wolf instantly recognized the creature that appeared in the doorway next.

"Hey, Steve," his person greeted nonchalantly, "nice of you to join us. Did you know your buddy here makes an _excellent_ heated body pillow?"

"Glad to see you're alright. JARVIS said he hasn't hurt you?"

"This guy?" His person rubbed the side of his neck affectionately, but the Wolf never let his eyes wander away from the door. "More interested in protecting me than hurting me, I think. We were having a grand old time until you lot started showing up to crash the party."

"Do you think he'd let us get any closer? Maybe just me?"

The Wolf's growl was answer enough.

"We can't just leave him here," the Drider groused.

Steve, the Wolf vaguely recalled liking him on occasion, didn't look so sure.

"It might be best if we did, actually. There's no way he's gonna relax as long as we're here and if we try and move Tony, he'll attack."

"Yeah," his person agreed, "and, no offense, but I'd rather not be trapped under a massive hunk of guard dog until whenever he changes back."

"Should be less than an hour," the vampire supplied. "HYDRA's experiments let him change when it's not the full moon, but he can't stay in this form for long."

"Then, shoo. The sooner you leave the sooner I get mobility back."

Steve snorted in amusement. The Wolf made a note that he had easily accepted the Wolf's ownership of his person and it put the vampire up a few rungs higher in his estimation.

"Alright. We won't go far, okay? And JARVIS will let us know if you need us."

The Vampire left, the Drider sending them another look over her shoulder as she followed after him. The Wolf waited until all the noises of their retreat had faded before plunking down fully on top of his person, all the air in the man's lungs leaving him in an, "Oomph!"

"Oh, God, you weigh a ton! What are you, a wolf or a fucking horse? Jesus!"

The Wolf ignored his person's chatter and instead snuggled closer, burying his nose in the hair by his person's ear. He was exhausted and such an extended threat hadn't done anything to calm his nerves. Covering his person with his own body was the only way the Wolf could be sure he'd know of a threat before it was too late and still be able to sleep. Inhaling deeply, he let the scent of his person surround him as he drifted off.

.

..

…

..

.

Bucky woke up slowly, mind groggy and body aching in a way that could only suggest the change. He groaned a bit, but didn't open his eyes. His bed was soft and warm and he really didn't want to move. Besides, the room just smelled _so good_.

"Oh, excellent, you're awake. This means you can get off me, right?"

Bucky's eyes snapped open and it took him all of a second to realize he wasn't lying on top of his bed but on top of a _person_ before he was scrambling backwards and falling a couple feet to land on his ass. His very naked ass. God, he hated transformations. The person on the bed shifted a bit before Tony Stark's smirking face peered over the edge at him. Steve had shown in pictures of everyone on the team, so Bucky recognized him on sight.

"I gotta say, the role reversal going on right now is kinda nice. I admit I like it. Of course, my entire right leg is asleep and as soon as it moves past the numb stage and onto the pins and needles stage it's going to hurt like a bitch, so I guess everything comes at a price. How yah doin' down there, buddy?"

Bucky's brows pulled together in confusion and he nearly asked how he'd wound up in what was apparently Tony Stark's bedroom before the memories started to filter back. They always took a while to return after he'd been in his other form, and the Wolf had been quite insistent upon taking control. He remembered Natasha coming by with food and being utterly overwhelmed by the scent, making a break for it, finding Tony asleep and vulnerable, crouching over the genius and snarling viciously. He scrambled to his feet in a rush of panic and scanned the billionaire with his eyes.

"Did I hurt you? Dear God, please tell me I didn't bite you! I am _so_ sorry!"

"Woah, woah!" Tony sat up and held his hands out in a calming manner. Bucky felt the entirely inappropriate urge to nuzzle the genius's palms with his face. "Nobody hurt anybody, okay? If anything, you seemed focused on making sure I _didn't_ get hurt."

Bucky blinked, not quite sure he understood.

"What do you mean?"

Tony pat the bed next to him in an indication for Bucky to sit and waited until he'd done so before answering.

"You scared the shit out of me when I woke up to find you in here, I'm not gonna lie. Giant wolves suddenly in my face tend to inspire that reaction in me. Turned out you only wanted to cuddle, though, cute little puppy that you are." He grinned wickedly and bumped Bucky's shoulder with his own. Something in Bucky's chest tightened at the expression on the other's face and he realized he was in some serious trouble. Tony Stark was too damn beautiful for his own good. "Then Nat showed up and you freaked out, threw yourself on top of me and kept me shielded from her. You didn't calm down again until she and Cap left."

"Stevie was here?"

Tony hummed an affirmative.

"In all his sun-light resistant, patriotic glory. You didn't seem too happy to see him, either, but you were better with him than with Nat."

"And they just left you with me?"

Tony shrugged.

"Nat was a bit reluctant, I admit, but it was actually Steve's idea. He and I agreed you wouldn't hurt me." Tony paused and bit his lip, looking nervous for the first time since Bucky had woken up. "Why was that, by the way? Do you know? Your Wolf's never reacted like that to anyone on the team before."

It went unsaid that Bucky's Wolf usually just attacked them straight out, especially during first encounters. There'd been an extremely close call within days of him arriving at the tower where Sam almost hadn't made it out of the room in time. The soldier did know the reason, though, and he hung his head to hide the blush rising on his cheeks.

"You, uh, you smell good." Tony's eyebrows rose and Bucky suddenly felt the words just spilling out his mouth. HYDRA had always made him keep everything bottled up and now it just sort of couldn't be contained sometimes. "Like, really good. It's been driving me crazy ever since I first got here. I kept catching whiffs of it but I didn't know where it was coming from. When Natasha came by today I just got overwhelmed and the Wolf took over."

Both of Tony's eyebrows shot up and his mouth made a little 'O' shape. Bucky couldn't pull his eyes away from it as he thought of all the other ways he could make the genius's mouth drop open like that. Damn his and the Wolf's emotions being so intertwined!

"So…I basically tamed your Wolf by smelling good?"

Well, in for a penny, Bucky supposed.

"How much do you know about how werewolves work? On a biological and instinctual level, I mean."

Tony's nose wrinkled. Bucky did not think it was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen. He did _not_.

"Not much. Squishy sciences have never really been my thing. Tech is where my heart lies, engineering, code. Numbers, facts, they're easy to work with. Chemicals in a pinch." He paused in thought for a moment and then ran his gaze along Bucky's body. "Except anatomy. I've always been a fan of that."

Bucky had to remind himself that breathing was something necessary to life. This guy was definitely not good for his mental health.

"Our senses are incredibly heightened, much like a vampire's, particularly our sense of smell. We use it for everything. It tells us about the environment we're in, whether or not food is safe to consume, a person's emotional state."

"You can smell emotion?"

"In a certain sense. Someone afraid sweats more and we can smell that, for example. It goes beyond that, I mean, but you get the gist."

"So my scent told your Wolf that I was safe or something?"

Bucky huffed a laugh, a somewhat broken one that had Tony looking at him with concern. He really wished the inventor wouldn't look at him like that, like he _cared_. It was so much worse than the flirting.

"My Wolf scented more than that, I'm afraid. We also, ah," he hesitated. Now that he'd reached this point in the conversation he wasn't quite sure how to phrase it. "We scent compatible mates, as well."

"Compatible mate-What? Me?"

"I know! I know! I'm sorry!" Bucky rushed to placate the man. "You didn't ask for this and I get that. If there were anything I could do, I would. And I know its extra weird because that means _I'm_ going to be looking at you as a compatible mate, too, but I can't help it! It's just attraction, that's all! Like seeing somebody on the street or in a bar and thinking they're really hot, like you want to stop them right then and there and ravage their very being-And I so didn't mean to say that. God, I _hate_ HYDRA for apparently wiping me out of any semblance of a verbal filter! I swear, I'd never try anything on you. You don't have to worry about me hitting on you or anything."

Bucky could feel his face burning with shame, but Tony only looked amused. He leaned back on his elbows, displaying his torso and abs in what was clearly a show of immense cruelty.

"Well, that's a shame then. I was kinda hoping to get hit on, especially with the whole angle of already having you naked in my bed. Guess that means I'm gonna have to hit on you, then."

Bucky blinked, then blinked again.

"What?"

"I'm just saying Steve totally neglected to tell me how hot you were and I've always kinda had a type. So," he slid Bucky a sideways glance, "hey, baby, you come here often?"

It was a clear sign that Bucky's brain had melted that his immediate response was, "Are you on drugs?" Tony didn't seem to be too pleased by it either. He flopped onto his back with a pout that made him look about five years old.

"Not cool, man. Serious ego burn there. I liked you better as a wolf."

Bucky's lips twitched upward in a smile. It was the first one he'd worn in a long time.

"Sorry, just…adjusting. Are you serious about this? I'm not exactly ideal goods for a relationship."

Tony shrugged, propping himself up on one elbow and peering up at him.

"Neither am I, but it's apparently good enough for your Wolf. I'm not really sure how much this differs from just dating somebody, but I'm willing to give it a shot." He leaned in a bit as though sharing a secret. "Confession time. I totally had a huge crush on you growing up and watching all the old film reels Howard had. Let me just say, you look _much_ better in person."

"Ah," Bucky could feel his miniscule smile growing just a tiny bit bigger. "I see. So does that mean I can kiss you?"

Tony grinned.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't."

The inventor rose up to meet him half way, their lips meeting softly at first and then with more pressure. Bucky wrapped his metal arm around the other man and hauled him up further, knowing the angle would be awful on Tony's back if he stayed there for long and selfishly not wanting their kiss to end. He licked at Tony's lips and then into his mouth as soon as he was given access. As it turned out, Tony tasted nearly as good as he smelled. By the time they pulled away from each other, they were both panting slightly. The inventor shot him another wicked grin, made all the more appealing by the way his pupils were blown wide with desire.

"You know, I always wanted a puppy."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Bucky paced his room like a trapped animal which, he supposed, he actually was. He'd returned there as soon as Tony had mentioned going down to his lab to get some work done. The werewolf hadn't wanted to test his luck with any of the other members of the team even if the Wolf seemed so mild around Tony himself. That had been two days ago. He'd thought maybe Tony would come find him once he was out of the lab, but that hadn't happened. He'd nearly left the room twice a dozen times, too, but he'd been too worried about running into someone else before he managed to find the inventor.

His hearing picked up footsteps outside his door and he quickly maneuvered to the other side of the room, pressing his back into the corner. He wasn't taking any more chances since the Wolf had taken over and shoved Natasha out of the way. There was a quick knock before the door cracked open and Steve poked his head inside.

"Hey. How're you doing?"

Bucky growled a bit, but edged out of his corner. Steve seemed to understand the growl as just Bucky's irritation in general and not irritation directed specifically at the vampire. Steve had always been good at reading Bucky's mood, even after HYDRA had infected him with the werewolf virus when he'd first been held captive by them.

"I thought we'd gotten past this whole isolation thing, Buck."

The sniper shrugged noncommittally.

"If Natasha had taken one step closer the other day, I would have attacked her."

Steve nodded, thankfully not shrugging the confession off. He wrapped one arm around Bucky's shoulders and pulled him down to sit on the bed.

"You know, the Wolf is never going to get used to them if you never spend any time with them."

"And if I bite someone? They'd have to deal with this fucking curse for the rest of their lives. I can't do that to somebody else, Stevie. I can't."

The arm around his shoulder squeezed him tightly.

"Is that why you haven't been to see Tony? Cause you're afraid you might bite him?"

Bucky's head snapped up, horror flooding through him at the thought.

"No! The Wolf adores Tony! He doesn't think I would, does he?"

It would certainly explain why the genius hadn't been to see him yet. Maybe he'd only been so accepting before because he was afraid of what Bucky's reaction would be if he turned the werewolf down. Now that Bucky was back in containment, Tony probably didn't want anything to do with him. A keening whine escaped from between his clenched teeth and Steve hurried to comfort him, scratching at his scalp with blunt fingernails.

"I'm pretty sure you could have your teeth against Tony's skin and he still wouldn't believe that you'd bite him. Why don't I take you to go see him?"

Bucky shook his head again, still pressed against Steve's frame. The Wolf was a bit disgruntled by the stench of vampire, but Bucky just tried to focus on the traces of his best friend. Even now, he could detect hints of that five foot nothin' kid from Brooklyn who hadn't known how to walk away from a fight.

"I can't. What if I run into one of the others? I'll wait for him here."

Steve hummed a little before glancing upwards and aiming his next words at the ceiling.

"Hey, JARVIS, where's Tony right now?"

"Sir is in his lab, Captain Rogers. Would you like me to deliver a message for you?"

"Depends. If he in the middle of a project?"

There was a short pause before the AI spoke again. Bucky's eyes darted from spot to spot across the ceiling, trying to pinpoint the source of JARVIS's voice.

"It appears Sir has several projects open but has made no progress on any of them in the past hour."

Steve nodded decisively before shooting a grin in Bucky's direction.

"Not busy, then. C'mon." Damn punk used that vampiric strength to his advantage in hauling Bucky to his feet. "JARVIS, please clear everyone from the path between here and the lab. Bucky doesn't want to run into anyone."

"At once, Captain, and may I say I think Sir will be quite pleased with your visit?"

Steve's expression twisted into a smirk as he shooed Bucky through the door of his room and toward the elevator.

"I had a feeling he might be."

Bucky glared at him.

"So, has the new team figured out you're an evil mastermind yet or are you still keeping that a secret?"

The vampire chuckled and cuffed him lightly.

"Only you would accuse me of being evil just cause I'm trying to get you to stop mooning over Tony and actually spend some time with him."

Bucky scowled as the elevator deposited them one of the lab floors and they headed off down the corridor.

"I'm hardly mooning. And don't think I don't see what you're doing with the werewolf pun."

Steve just looked at him.

"You're mooning. And I have no idea what you're talking about."

That earned him the silent treatment until they got to the entry of Tony's lab. They could see Tony through the glass, though Bucky couldn't pick up any more than the usual amount of the man's scent that clung to every room of the tower. Steve knocked on the glass, causing the man on the other side to jump and whirl around in his rolly chair. Tony's glare morphed into a huge grin as he spotted them and he motioned for them to come in as the door slid open.

"Hey! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Bucky tried to hang back a bit, not wanting to assume anything, but Steve shoved him forward.

"You're both emotionally-stunted idiots and I don't want to deal with it, that's what."

Tony blinked for a moment, looking stunned, before his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What?"

Bucky kind of wished he could just melt into the floor. He recognized that expression. It was the same one Steve wore every time some asshole had punched him into the ground and the idiot popped right back up again.

"You," he jabbed a finger in Tony's direction, "have been hiding in the lab ever since you found out Bucky went back to his room cause you thought he was having second thoughts and Bucky," he jabbed the finger in the werewolf's direction, "has been waiting for you to come to him because he's too afraid to run into other people to come find you. The pining stops now."

Tony gaped at the vampire while Bucky just glared daggers. Steve looked rather pleased with himself, all in all.

"Well, I think my work here is done. I'm gonna go get started on dinner for the team. We'll be sitting down in an hour. You're both welcome to join us if you'd like."

With that, Steve turned away and left the lab, Bucky's glare following him the entire way. The werewolf only turned around again when he heard Tony clearing his throat. The genius was shifting awkwardly in his seat.

"So, um, you were just avoiding the others?"

Bucky shrugged.

"I don't really have a good track record of getting along with people right now."

Tony nodded a bit absentmindedly before standing from his chair.

"But you're still cool with this, right? I mean, us?"

Bucky crossed to stand before him, taking his hands with a smiled and placing a kiss on the knuckles. He rubbed his nose against the skin there, just enjoying the scent for a long moment.

"Yes. As long as you are."

Tony beamed, his scent brightening with a hint of…coconut?

"I am. It just, I dunno. It _feels_ right, you know?"

Bucky's instincts screamed for him to bury his nose in the other's neck and pepper the skin there with kisses.

"It certainly smells right."

It was stunning to watch the way Tony's laughter stripped years away from his face. It was enough of a distraction that Bucky didn't even realize what he was doing until their lips were pressed against one another's. The inventor's lips were chapped, the skin cracked and broken from being bitten and worried whenever he was working on a project, and they were warm. His beard scratched the werewolf's chin, catching a bit on the other's stubble. Bucky's metal hand moved to cup the back of the inventor's head and pull him closer while the other wrapped around Tony's hip. The genius's hands were caught between them, tangled in the various straps of his leather uniform.

The Wolf howled triumphantly in the back of Bucky's mind, and he couldn't help but agree. His tongue darted out to brush the other's lips and Tony parted easily to grant him access. Their tongues met briefly as Bucky licked his way inside and tasted his mate. Well, soon-to-be mate if the Wolf had anything to say about it. They hadn't actually coupled yet. There was definitely an interest, though, if the tightening of the werewolf's pants was anything to go by. He pulled away reluctantly, if only to stop himself from rutting against Tony's hip to get more friction.

"Wow," Bucky panted, "that was-"

"Amazing?" Tony offered, to fill the blank. "Yeah, I thought so, too."

Bucky grinned toothily, ducking his head down a bit to nuzzle along Tony's jawline a bit and lay a few kisses there. It seemed that once he got the green light of affection he wasn't at all inclined to stop.

"I certainly enjoyed it."

Tony grinned before stepping back, putting a bit of distance between them. He headed over toward the couch that was set near a small kitchenette, little more than a mini-fridge, some cabinets, a blender, and a microwave.

"So, it occurred to me, well, Pepper was the one who pointed it out but _still_ , it occurred to me that we don't really know that much about each other. I mean, I grew up on stories about the Howling Commandos but most of those probably weren't accurate and they were mostly about Steve anyway. I can't even begin to tell you how obsessed my dad was with that guy."

"He told you about the Commandos?"

It was kind of surprising, all things considered. Other than Steve, Howard hadn't been all that interested in any of them back in the day. At least he hadn't been in the memories that Bucky had managed to recover. He still didn't have all of them back, to be fair.

"Oh, yeah." Tony settled in on the couch, kicking his feet up on the small coffee table and lounging back against the cushions. Bucky perched stiffly next to him only to be pulled down to curl against the other's side. "Dad wasn't a big fan of me being around. At all, really. But he loved having an audience for his old war stories. Steve and I have talked about them a bit. Turns out dear old Dad exaggerated his involvement in most of them. And his friendship with you guys."

Bucky shrugged.

"He was a face around camp and we were all a little intimidated by him. Except Dum Dum, of course. He'd come by and steal Steve away to test out this thing or another from time to time, but I don't remember him much other than that. Sorry."

Tony brought a hand up to card his fingers thought Bucky's hair, much like Steve had been doing earlier, and the werewolf nearly melted into the man's side.

"Nah. No need to be. If I wanted to talk about my dad I'd call the therapist Pepper keeps leaving me cards for. No, thank you. I'm much more interested in talking about you."

"Yeah? What do you want to know?"

Tony shrugged, his shoulder lifting and lowering under Bucky's head.

"I dunno. What's your favorite food? What're your hobbies? Typical first date stuff, I guess."

Bucky snorted, the Wolf rumbling happily in the back of his mind as the petting continued. If this kept up, he was gonna end up sleeping on Tony all over again.

"Is this your idea of a first date, then? Hanging out on the couch in your lab? Gotta admit, Stark, you've got your own kinda style."

He didn't have to open his eyes, which had as some point slipped closed, to know that the man was pouting. Even in their brief acquaintance, he had learned that much about him.

"I will have you know that I have excellent style, thank you very much. Impeccable, even. It's hardly my fault if you can't appreciate it."

"So this _is_ a date?"

Tony was silent for a moment.

"No. This is just hanging out, like you said. We'll save the dating thing for when you feel a bit more comfortable around people. Now," the fingers in Bucky's hair paused for a moment to pull at a few strands, "you still haven't answered my questions."

Bucky frowned, thinking it over.

"Uh, steak? I guess? I don't really remember, but I've loved meat ever since I got infected, particularly beef. The bloodier, the better. I don't like vegetables that much."

"So not Indian, then. Brucie will be so disappointed. What about hobbies?"

Bucky frowned, opening his eyes and shifting a bit so that he could actually look at Tony's face. This close, the man's scent surrounded them both and it was like an absolute dream.

"Don't really have any, I guess. HYDRA didn't really include it in the programming and everything I can remember from before just seems kind of…pointless now, I suppose."

Tony hummed in response, not giving Bucky the pity he'd been expecting and somewhat dreading.

"We'll just have to find you some new ones then, won't we?" Tony winked. "I'm sure we can find something you'll enjoy."

The way his eyes swept over Bucky's body, he was thinking of one thing in particular he would like to try. The werewolf couldn't say he was wholly opposed. The Wolf had been urging him to truly claim Tony ever since they'd woken up together in the man's bed, after all. He was exceedingly comfortable at the moment, though, and didn't really want to move. He stroked at Tony's abdomen instead, making the man shiver beneath him.

"What about you? It seems unfair for this conversation to be so one-sided."

Tony tipped his head back and relaxed further into the couch.

"Well, we wouldn't want to be anything other than fair. We're super heroes, you know. Have to keep up with our image." He grinned as he slid Bucky a sideways glance. "Food and hobbies, huh? Hmmm…Burgers, definitely. Nothing beats a good American cheeseburger, especially if it's got bacon on it. Bacon makes everything better."

Bucky slipped the tips of his fingers under the hem of Tony's tank top, skin sliding gently against skin. Despite his contentedness with his current position, he couldn't help but imagine running his tongue over that skin, too.

"And your hobbies?" he asked as a distraction. "What do you do for fun around here, Mr. Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist?"

Tony groaned and rolled away from him, curling into the arm of the couch and hiding.

"Steve told you that story, didn't he?"

Bucky laughed, scooting over to follow the man and peaking over his shoulder to grin at him.

"Steve's told me a lot of stories. About all of you."

Tony peeked up at him, looking torn between suspicion, continuing to pout, and curiosity.

"Yeah? Anything good and embarrassing I should know about? About the others. Not me, of course."

Bucky smirked.

"Well, there was this one thing he told me about. Some mission he was on with Natasha."

He smirked as soon as he spotted the spark of interest in Tony's eye.

"Yeah? You gonna tell me what it was?"

"I dunno," Bucky shot right back. "You gonna come out of your corner so I can?"

Tony shuffled himself around so he was laying the other way, now facing the werewolf.

"Happy?"

Bucky pressed a quick kiss to his lips before smiling at him.

"Ecstatic."

Tony clearly struggled to suppress a grin and poked Bucky in the ribs instead.

"Hush, you. Tell me this embarrassing fact about Steve and Natasha already."

"Hmm," Bucky pretended to consider it. "Natasha's a pretty dangerous little lady. I'm not so sure I'd want to end up in her bad side."

Tony snorted.

"I'm pretty sure calling her 'little lady' would put you there anyway."

The werewolf shrugged.

"I guess it's just too late for me, then. I may as well tell you all about how she and Stevie totally made out."

"They did _what?_ " Tony shot into a more upright position, eyes bugging out. He shoved at Bucky's shoulder with glee written all over his face. "You better not be shitting me!"

Bucky held his hands up defensively. He loved being able to joke around like this, something he didn't feel comfortable doing anymore with anyone but Steve and now Tony. It was like he was a completely different person whenever he was around the man.

"I shit you not! I swear! Steve was red as a tomato when he told me about it!"

Tony seemed to be trying to gape and grin wolfishly at the same time.

"Details! I need details! I mean, those two? I never would have pegged them for an item. I would have thought Natasha was too busy trying to set him up with everybody with two legs and a heartbeat, with the memorably exception of that one Lich chick, to actually get with him herself. Besides, I have to admit I have trouble seeing Steve dealing with all those extra legs when they're in bed together. I mean, I know she uses a Glamour normally, but that's-"

Bucky had to slap his hand over the genius's mouth to stop the flow of words while the werewolf shook with laughter. He liked the rambling, though. It was a nice change of pace from the last time they'd interacted.

"It was for a mission," he managed to weave out around his laughter. "Natasha claimed that displays of affection make people uncomfortable before laying one on him to slip by an enemy agent on an escalator."

Tony pulled Bucky's hand away from his mouth but didn't relinquish it, just held on as he pouted.

"Well, that isn't nearly as juicy as I thought it was. You, Mr. Barnes, are a tease."

Bucky hummed, his gaze darting down toward Tony's lips and the pout he wanted to just kiss away.

"What can I say? You just make it so much fun. I can't resist."

Tony gave him a flat look.

"Oh, yeah. Just blame it all on me, why don't you?"

Bucky pulled him in, nuzzling the side of his face affectionately.

"Don't think of it as blame. Think of it as giving credit where credit is due."

"Oh, well, when you put it like that, I should be thanking you for giving me a compliment."

"You're absolutely right," Bucky grinned. "And you're welcome."

Tony huffed before settling back into the couch. His face eased into a relaxed, slightly inquisitive expression.

"You know, you aren't at all how I imagined you. The way Sam and Natasha talked, I thought you'd be a lot more…serious."

Bucky shrugged, settling back, too.

"You put me in a different place. I feel freer when I'm around you. Stevie, too, to some degree, but it's not the same. The others…I feel tense around them."

The genius hummed in acknowledgement before reaching out and twining his fingers with those of Bucky's metal arm.

"You know what this means, right?" His eyes sparkled with mischief. "We're totally showing up for dinner tonight. You've gotta get used to 'em eventually, Buckaroo!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Bucky could feel the stress building up within him before they even made it off the elevator. He hid partially behind Tony as the doors the slid open and they entered the communal floor. Realistically, he knew that the others would be able to stop him before any damage was done if he lost control but he really didn't want to lose control in the first place. The only reason he'd mustered up the courage to appear at all was because Tony would be with him. The genius, of course, seemed entirely unconcerned.

He sauntered into the room like he owned the place, which he actually did, and immediately tried to steal some of the food Steve was cooking. The vampire glared at him and swatted at his hand but Tony just danced away, chuckling. He proceeded through the kitchen and into the dining room where Bucky could hear the others already gathered. He hesitated to follow.

"Hey," Steve called to him softly, "you alright?"

He tried to give his old friend a reassuring smile.

"Yeah. I'm just…nervous, I guess. How many people are here?"

Steve gave him a sympathetic look.

"All of them. Nobody has any side missions at the moment so the whole team is here. Its seven people if you don't include us or Tony. Coulson won't stick around once the eating starts, though."

A male voice hummed in agreement from off to the side and Bucky nearly jumped out of his skin. He bared his teeth before even realizing what he was doing and growled at the apparition. The see-through man hovering about an inch off the ground sent him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that. I honestly wanted to make sure there wouldn't be a problem and that, if there was, it happened now rather than later."

Steve looked disapproving.

"Scaring people isn't like you, Agent Coulson."

The mild-looking ghost just shrugged.

"I had to be sure. I may be dead but that doesn't make this team any less of my responsibility."

Steve's lips thinned but he said nothing. He turned back to cooking the food he wouldn't be able to eat. The vampiric serum in his veins kept him on a strict diet of blood, but even back with the Commandos he'd enjoyed the act of cooking and caring for his team. Bucky figured it made him feel more normal. He'd always done the cooking when the two of them had lived together. Coulson was eying the werewolf thoughtfully.

"So you're Bucky Barnes, huh? I have to say it's an honor to meet you. I'd offer to shake, but…"

He grinned sheepishly and held up his incorporeal limbs. Bucky dipped his head in greeting.

"Steve's said good things about you."

The ghost perked up at that, his ether-plasma glowing just a little bit brighter. Bucky wished he could smell him to get more of a sense of who he was, but only the most powerful ghosts gave off smells and by that time they were usually already transforming into something else, like wraths or phantoms. It didn't seem like Coulson would be taking that route any time soon. Tony popped his head back in through the doorway.

"Hey! What's the hold up?"

Coulson gave the other man a bland smile.

"Just getting to know each other, Mr. Stark. No need for you to worry."

Tony's eyes narrowed.

"You know that only makes me more suspicious, right?" The agent just continued to smile. Tony grabbed onto Bucky's metal arm and tugged him forward. "C'mon, let's leave Casper over there to spooking someone else."

Bucky let himself be lead along easily, though he could still feel the clawing of nerves in his belly. He avoided eye contact as the rest of the team took notice of his presence. His gaze skirted along limbs but avoided faces. He fought back the urge to hide behind Tony again, just tried to make himself look as non-threatening as possible. There were too many unfamiliar scents here for him to made sense of them. It made his nose itch and made him want to sneeze.

"Welcome to the communal floor, man," Sam greeted brightly, his wings shuffling a bit behind him. "Good to see you out of that room of yours."

Bucky's gaze darted up briefly to see his grin before he dropped it again.

"Thanks."

Tony ushered him over to a chair and pushed him into it, settling down in the one beside him.

"So, introductions, right? Those still need to happen?" He only glanced at Bucky briefly, but it was enough to make the werewolf feel at least a bit more comfortable. "I know Steve has told you about all of us, but you've only ever met Nat and Sam in person, right?"

Bucky bobbed his head in agreement and Tony beamed at him encouragingly. The werewolf kind of wanted to crawl into his lap.

"The Captain has told us quite a bit about you as well, friend Barnes!" Thor rumbled. The bralini eladrin beamed and poured a downright excessive amount of heady joy into the air around them. Bucky had to fight back the urge to cover his nose and whimper. "I have been quite impressed by the tales of your skill!"

Bruce Banner placed one rune-covered hand on Thor's arm to calm him. The ancient script tattooed into his skin was a dull grey, but Bucky knew they would turn poison green and purple as the spirits overtook him. That was the fate of any shade.

"Perhaps we should give him a bit of time to adjust before we get too excited, hmm?" He sent Bucky a reassuring smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bucky. I'm Bruce."

Bucky managed a shaky smile in return.

"Good to meet you, too."

Natasha's scent of approval floated across the room and Bucky let himself relax just a little bit. The Wolf was in the back of him mind, unsettled and suspicious, but it didn't seem like the beast was too focused on breaking free any time soon.

"Oh, hey," Bucky chanced a look at the archer while he was focused on Tony and the Wolf shuddered a bit in the face of the man's glowing eyes, "were you able to get those arrows done we talked about?"

Tony groaned and went boneless in his chair. The werewolf instantly stiffened at the sign of irritation.

"I don't even want to talk about it. Seriously. I can't even begin to explain how much I hate this new idea of yours."

The sardonic grin Clint shot at the genius had Bucky's hackles rising. There was no scent of animosity in the air, other than his own, but that didn't mean he liked it any better.

"What's the matter, Stark? Too much of a challenge for you?"

The snarl startled Bucky just as much as it did everyone else. He swallowed it down quickly and ducked his head.

"Sorry, I-Sorry."

Tony reached out to rub the back of his neck soothingly. Bucky let himself lean into the touch just a bit.

"It's alright. Nothing to worry about. Bird brain and I just raz each other a bit, that's all."

Bucky had to stamp down on his initial reaction that no one should be allowed to talk to the genius like that, no matter the circumstances.

"Uh, yeah," Clint threw in, having received an elbow to his ribs from Natasha. "Stark's the smartest guy I know, no offence, Bruce."

The shade shook his head with a small smile.

"None taken. I'm very aware it wasn't my brain that got me on this team."

Tony pouted.

"Your brain is beautiful and perfect and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise!"

Bruce laughed, but never got the chance to answer as Steve swept into the room with a huge pan of what looked and smelled like lasagna. He set it in the middle of the table before disappearing back into the kitchen and coming back with a small pan that he set in front of Natasha and a supply of blood he kept for himself.

"Bon appetite, guys."

Bucky was pretty sure he'd been in warzones more peaceful than the Avenger's table at meal time. There was laughter and shouting and a general sense of comradery that was nice, though. Clint and Thor were certainly the most boisterous of the bunch, but Bucky had the distinct feeling that Tony would normally be diving right in with them. He felt a rush of gratitude that the genius instead stuck to Bucky's side. Steve just leaned back in his chair with an amused expression and let the others do what they wanted. Natasha smirked around her cricket casserole.

"So," Tony leaned into his side, "what do you think?"

The werewolf resisted the urge to nuzzle the side of the genius's face.

"It's…a lot to take in."

From Tony's other side, Bruce snorted.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it."

Tony pouted and stuck his tongue out at the other scientist.

"Whatever. I had a feeling you'd like it."

Natasha let out a disgruntled kind of hiss and Bucky felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand tall. He shifted a bit in his seat as the drider pointed her fork in Tony's direction.

"You and these 'feelings'…I don't buy it."

Tony just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. We're all very aware of your theory that I'm secretly not human."

"I didn't say that," Natasha argued, "but there's definitely something going on."

Clint leaned over with a wide grin.

"Oh, come off it, Nat. If Tony had any crazy abilities, SHIELD would know by now."

She didn't look convinced.

"Your intuitions are far too accurate for there not to be something behind them."

Tony grinned.

"You're just mad cause I've connected some dots you haven't."

Her expression left no doubt as to exactly how she felt about that statement. Clint shoved at least three mouthfuls worth of food into his gullet before talking again.

"Who knows? Maybe she's right."

Tony rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Stop trying to stir the pot, Barton."

The archer seemed perfectly happy to ignore him.

"I'm just saying. Yeah, maybe that big brain of yours is really that good. Or maybe you're secretly a…" he faltered, apparently not quite able to come up with a good enough creature.

"I could always test a sample of your blood."

Tony whirled on his science bro even as the Wolf bristled in the back of Bucky's mind.

"Not you, too, Brucie! You secretly just want to stick needles in me, don't you? I feel so betrayed!"

Bruce just laughed.

"Oh, you know me."

Bucky knocked over his chair as he scrambled to leave the room. He could feel the tightness under his skin of the Wolf trying to get loose, the rage in the back of his skull. He knew they were only joking, couldn't mistake their banter as anything else, but all the Wolf knew was that they were talking about hurting Tony the same way he had been hurt. He slid down the wall just passed the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his knees, shivering. It was only moments before a presence knelt down beside him.

"Buck?"

He let himself be pulled sideways and into the genius's arms, only letting out a small whimper as he went. His own hands clutched at the fabric of the other's shirt, desperate to draw him closer. His scent became a grounding force that kept Bucky from drifting away.

"I'm sorry," Tony murmured into his hair. "I didn't even think about how all that must have sounded to you."

Bucky shook his head.

"I knew it was only a joke."

"Doesn't make it any better." He snorted. "Hell of an impression for your first time with the team. We'll try and do better next time."

Bucky pressed his nose into the skin of Tony's neck.

"The Wolf is so angry," he whispered. "He wants out, wants to make sure you're okay."

Tony hummed in acknowledgement but didn't answer for several long moments.

"Maybe you should let him out then."

Bucky sat bolt upright.

"You can't be serious! With the others so close?"

Tony scratched behind his ear soothingly.

"He just wants to make sure I'm okay, right? What better way than to let him check for himself?"

The Wolf seemed to have doubled his efforts to escape and Bucky squeezed his eyes shut to hold him back.

"I can't-If I hurt someone-"

Tony shushed him and ran his fingers soothingly through the werewolf's hair, bringing his head back down to rest of the genius's shoulder again.

"You won't. And neither will he. I've got you, James. I've got you."

Bucky felt a shiver run down his spine as he surrendered control to the Wolf. He could feel his bones shifting and lengthening even as his mind slipped away. It wasn't a pleasant sensation, but the transformations never were. His arm gave a little mechanical whir as it shifted to accommodate his alternate form. Tony continued to stroke his hair even as it turned into fur and spread to cover his entire body.

The Wolf inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of his person and the feeling of fingers scratching at his scalp. He ran a critical eye over the genius's form but wasn't able to identify any injuries. He remembered alarm and anger from before the shift, but could find no reason for it now. He pressed himself closer eagerly, nearly sending his human toppling over with his enthusiasm. The man laughed.

"Look at you, still as puppyish as ever. You're too much of a cutie for your own good."

The Wolf's tail wagged a few times and he flicked his tongue out to lick his human's face, making the man laugh even more. The hands petting him moved to rub his ears and the Wolf could do little but rumble his approval. Familiar footsteps approached through the next room and the Wolf's head popped up to attention as the blonde vampire peered out at them. Two eyebrows rose higher at the sight of the two of them on the floor.

"He shifted?"

His human shrugged and continued petting him.

"Seemed like the thing to do. All the talk in there got him feeling a little antsy. Apparently the Wolf wanted to check up on me."

The vampire grimaced as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Sorry," he directed at the werewolf, "I should have put a stop to it."

The Wolf peered up at him thoughtfully. He still remembered how easily this creature had accepted his ownership of his human, remembered the familiarity and fondness he felt even before then. His human was giving the werewolf a thoughtful look before his gaze skated back to the vampire.

"Have you tried petting him yet, Steve?"

The vampire looked surprised.

"Not in this form. Not since…we got him back. He hasn't exactly been receptive."

The Wolf cocked his head to one side in curiosity. He didn't really understand where the confusion was coming from that now colored the vampire's scent, nor the touch of sorrow. He whined a bit and glanced at his human, hoping the other could explain. The man just beamed as he stood, using the Wolf's shoulder for leverage. He immediately grabbed hold of the vampire's hand, something that rankled just a bit, and held it out for the Wolf to sniff.

"Hey, buddy, c'mon. You remember Steve, right?"

The Wolf leant forward to sniff the vampire's hand only because it was so clearly what his person wanted him to do. The happy coconut scent that flooded the hallway was all he needed to know that he'd done the right thing. A little flick of his tongue across cold fingers was all it took for the warm smell of apples to join it. Now the vampire was grinning, too, looking almost awestruck. The Wolf huffed in amusement. The undead were always so easy to keep entertained. The vampire knelt down in front of him and brought his other hand tentatively closer.

"Can I…?"

The Wolf looked to his person briefly for guidance before allowing the hand to stroke gently down the side of his neck. It didn't feel as good as when his person did it, but that was okay. One could only expect so much from a vampire. His person seemed extremely pleased and gave him an ear rub as reward. The Wolf tilted his head into the touch happily.

"See? Nothin' but a big puppy."

The vampire brought a second hand up to pet the other side of the Wolf's neck, moving on to scratching once that went unprotested. The Wolf figured maybe he wasn't so bad after all. He'd make decent enough pack, depending on how well he defended the Wolf's person. Mates always had to be the first consideration.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," the vampire commented in a hushed voice. "I mean, I'd hoped that one day-but I never thought it would be this soon." He gave the Wolf's human a small smile. "You're good for him."

The Wolf puffed up his chest with pride. That was right. This vampire was smarter than most if he could see the value of the Wolf's human already. Pack material, indeed. His human was blushing and the Wolf recognized instantly the scent of embarrassment wafting off of him, along with something just a little bit dark.

"I don't-I mean, I'm not-"

The Wolf cut his person off by pushing forward and head butting him gently in the chest. He would not tolerate such thoughts in his mate. His person was beautiful, and smart, and his. He would not choose someone unworthy. His person should never doubt that, or himself. The vampire chuckled.

"I think he's telling you to shut up."

His person pouted.

"I just can't catch a break, can I?"

The vampire grinned toothily at him, displaying his fangs in a way that should have been threatening but somehow wasn't.

"I think he might be pretty good for you, too."

More coconut flooded the air, though it still mingled with the acidic bite of embarrassment. That was alright. The Wolf could accept embarrassment.

"You're biased."

The vampire laughed.

"Of course I am. You two are my best friends. I'm incredibly biased. Towards both of you. Doesn't make me any less right."

The Wolf's person sent the other creature a glare but there was no heat behind it.

"Since when did you become so sassy?"

Their shoulder's knocked together and the Wolf tilted his head to one side at the curious gesture.

"Learned it for you, of course. I guess you're a bad influence after all."

His person snorted.

"You're terrible, Rogers."

The vampire slung one arm around the Wolf's person and jostled him a bit. The Wolf eyed him warily.

"And you're not. So there."

Feeling left out, the Wolf squirmed his way between them, sprawling across both of their laps in the process. Coconut and apple hung heavy in the air and the Wolf thought it was a smell he could really get used to.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The full moon was an inconvenience Bucky would rather not live with. Granted, most werewolves probably felt the same way but he felt very little sympathy for those who only went through the change one day a month. He wished he could be that lucky. At least his other shifts were shorter than the one he experienced at the full moon. HYDRA's experiments had made him so sensitive that the Wolf had complete control for three straight days; the day of the full moon itself, the day before, and the day after. Bucky hated it.

He supposed it was lucky that the full moon had shown up his second week of being at the tower, while he was still in lock down. That meant he had some time to settle into a routine with Tony, at least, before he sprung a three-day-Wolf-binge on him. Now that the Wolf had claimed him, he refused to let them be apart if he could help it. Which was how he'd wound up in this situation, the Wolf lying at his person's feet while the man conducted a board meeting.

The Wolf didn't like the smell of this room. Sure, it smelled like his person, but it was also rank with other scents, scents that were not so pleasant. The man three seats down stank of bourbon, sweat, and sex. There were two different sets of perfumes lingering around him, too, so the Wolf was pretty sure the sex hadn't been with the same woman. Disgusting. What sort of beast disrespected its mate like that? The Wolf knew exactly what the ring on the man's finger meant, after all. He wasn't a fool.

"So, over all, second quarter sales are doing exceptionally well but we still aren't out performing our competitors by the margins I'd like to see. Apple could easily overtake the StarkPhone with the release of a new feature."

The woman speaking had dark hair, but blonde underneath. Her red lips gave a pop of color to a face that was otherwise minimally made-up. The Wolf could detect the traces of only one other person on her and approved whole-heartedly. His person hmm-ed as he twirled his chair back and forth lightly.

"And what do you propose we do about it? I hope you haven't just brought such a problem to my attention without a strategy for how to fix it."

The woman smiled.

"Of course not, Mr. Stark. I propose we move the release date for the new StarkPhone up by a month. I admit, it's a bit of a risky move as it means the release will coincide with that of the new Apple tablet, but with the right marketing and push I think we can make our message clear."

His person's eyes lit up as he leaned his elbows onto the table in front of him and laced his fingers together.

"You mean to crush them."

"This is Stark Industries, sir. I felt it prudent that we live up to our name."

Bourbon-and-multiple-partners snorted with derision.

"And have you even considered how much it would cost to move the date of the release so drastically? We'd likely end up losing money!"

The Wolf resisted the urge to growl at the man. Instead he just sat and pushed his nose into his person's lap, fingers automatically moving to rub behind his ears.

"Actually," the woman remained calm in the face of his assault, "I have. If you would all turn your attention to figure 5B in the packet you should have loaded on your StarkPads you'll see the financial projections detailed out in the graph. As you can see, the profit margin for the new release date far outweighs the amount we would pay to accelerate production. Additionally, the net profit would still be higher than those projected for the original release date by almost a hundred-thousand dollars."

"We're a multi-billion dollar company, we hardly need to worry about a hundred-thousand."

The Wolf's person held up one hand to forestall the woman's rebuttal.

"I see here that these numbers have been calculated on the basis that the new StarkPhones will also come fully-loaded with extended storage capabilities as well as the ability to sync compatibly with any other operating systems, including those of the Mac. Last I checked neither of these features were even available yet."

The woman colored, but did not cow in the face of his inquiry.

"Yes, Mr. Stark, that's correct. I'm afraid my presentation has been thrown a little bit out of the intended order. Those are both features I am proposing to be added before the release."

"That's quite the tall order."

"Nothing unreasonable, Mr. Stark, I assure you. I've already spoken to R&D and they have no doubts that they can get it accomplished in time."

The Wolf could smell the subtle hints of doubt, like dark chocolate, sneaking their way into his person's scent.

"The extended storage space, sure. I can see that. It's the compatibility that's tripping me up here. You do understand that no one else on the market has this feature, right? It's not something R&D can just crack down on and pull out of their asses at the last minute."

"They've, uh, actually been working on this one for a little while, sir."

Dark eyebrows rose.

"Really now?"

"Yes, sir. It was sort of a pet project within the phone and tablet divisions. They were planning to surprise you with it when it was all done, but most of them figured you'd already made them and were just playing along."

The Wolf's person chuckled, the hints of chocolate disappearing.

"Well, you can tell them I'm very surprised indeed. The tablet version is ready to go, too?"

"As ready as the phone version is. The way I understand it, they're just testing out the last of the kinks on both."

Coconut filled the air.

"You've made your case very well, Ms. Knight. I trust you'll be able to handle the proceedings from this point forward?"

The woman smiled and opened her mouth to respond, but the man from earlier cut her off.

"You can't be serious!"

His person scowled, the coconut evaporating.

"And why ever not?"

The man's face was reddening as the bourbon and sweat scents grew more dominant. The Wolf whined softly and shuffled his nose to bury it a bit further into his person's shirt and try to drown the other scent out.

"I understand you only recently took back the reigns here, Mr. Stark, but we have regulations in place about this sort of thing."

"Any and all of which can be overturned with my approval and signature. Those regulations never changed while Ms. Potts was in charge, Mr. Vanders, and I would appreciate it if you would remember just who _instigated_ most of those regulations. I would like to think that most of the people in this room understand that I never just blindly signed documents when they were given to me. Well, aside from a few incidents when I was in my twenties. Any other reasons you have for not wanting this clearly-beneficial plan to be put through?"

The scent of gasoline began to leach off of his person, his irritation a fire ready to be lit at any moment. The Wolf moved to lick the tips of his fingers soothingly.

"We've hardly heard enough to come to that conclusion. The only real facts and numbers Ms. Knight has given us have been about the current quarter. There's been nothing to substantiate her claims except for a fancy chart. We can hardly base such a huge decision on such little evidence."

The gasoline smell grew strong enough that the Wolf had to remove his head from his person's lap. His own irritation began to rise up as he sent a baleful look in the other man's direction.

"Which is why I _read_ the report, Mr. Vander. If you had as well, you would find there is ample evidence to support what Ms. Knight has said. Now, I understand that you are bringing some personal issues into this discussion but I would kindly ask that from now on you check your shit at the door along with your coat. I don't have the patience to deal with petty nonsense."

The man blustered, face growing redder by the second.

"I don't know what you're implying."

The Wolf's person sneered and he found he did not at all like that look of his person's face.

"What I'm _saying_ is that I'm very aware that you've been extremely vocal in your opposition of any proposal Ms. Knight has brought forward over the last six months because that is when she declined your advances toward her due to the fact that you're married, she's been in a steady relationship for quite some time, and, I imagine, a general lack of interest. I would simply count yourself lucky that she has not filed a harassment claim against you because that is the _only_ reason you have not yet been removed from this board." His eyes narrowed. "So do not push me, Mr. Vander. You will find I am not in the mood."

It seemed that the other board members all suddenly found something very interesting in their StarkPads that demanded their attention. The repulsive man could only sit there gaping like a fish while the woman at the front of the room colored bright pink. The Wolf's person turned to her with a much gentler expression.

"My apologies, Ms. Knight. It was not my intention to drag your business into the open like that. I just simply could not abide by such unprofessional behavior any longer."

" _Unprofessional?_ " The Wolf bristled as the man rose from his chair, his anger pouring more of his putrid scent into the air. "You want to call others unprofessional when you bring that mutt into a meeting?"

The Wolf rose to his feet and growled defensively, his side pressing up against his person's chair in the face of such threatening behavior. His person's hand immediately reached out for him, curling itself around the long fur at the scruff of his neck.

"Mind yourself, Mr. Vander. I will not tolerate a scene in my board room."

"This is outrageous!" The man whirled around to look at his fellow board members to assist him. "How can you all just sit there!"

An older woman sitting on the man's other side glared at him.

"Sit _down_ before you make things worse," she hissed. "You're embarrassing yourself."

From the expression on the man's face, she might as well have insulted his mother.

"This is ridiculous!"

Another of the board members, a man of absolute astonishingly old age who sat to the Wolf's person's right side, opposite of Vander and the woman, spoke up.

"While I cannot say I completely approve of Mr. Stark's decision to bring an animal, especially a creature as sentient as a werewolf, into a board meeting, I believe we must also recognize these are extenuating circumstances. We all received the memo explaining Sergeant Barnes's presence at this meeting. The time to bring up an issue with it would have been at that point, not now." He fixed the first man with a watery look. "If you were so uncomfortable with his presence, I'm sure Mr. Stark would have been happy to let you conference in to this meeting. It would not be the first time he had made concessions for unusual situations."

The Wolf's person nodded to him in thanks.

"Any other objections you would like to bring to the floor, Mr. Vander, or may we proceed with business?"

The man grumbled but sat back down. The Wolf relaxed just a bit as well, resettling himself on his haunches but not taking his gaze off the irate man. The older gentleman cleared his throat.

"Mr. Vander perhaps could have presented his opinions in a better manner but I cannot say I am ready to wholly jump behind this idea either." He sent a wry grin around the room, revealing teeth ever-so-slightly yellowed by age. His breath smelled like prunes. "Not all of us can read as fast as you, Mr. Stark."

That drew a chuckle from the genius and the gasoline smell eased off a bit, though it did not disappear completely.

"And is this a sentiment mirrored by other members of the board?" There was some muttering around the table and a few nods. "Very well. Grace period of," he checked his watch, "six and a half hours? Can everyone have it done by the end of the day? I'd propose something longer but I feel like a project of this magnitude should be gotten started as soon as possible."

There were sounds of agreement from around the table. The woman at the front of the room beamed.

"Thank you all very much."

"Thank you, Ms. Knight. You can expect the final word on the matter via email before midnight tonight." He glanced around the table. "I'll accept email confirmations or negations from all of you as well and will copy each of them over into the official file. Is that acceptable to everyone?" More nods. The gasoline scent had all by vanished by that point. "Excellent, let's proceed to the next order of business, shall we?"

The Wolf's gaze tracked the female presenter as she gathered her things and quietly left the room. As things seemed to proceed smoothly the Wolf eventually settled back down again. His head returned to his person's thigh once the last of the gasoline smell had faded away. He huffed quietly and was pleased at how his person immediately moved to pet him again. His eyes were just beginning to droop again when the next disturbance drew his attention back to the room at large.

"What?" His person sounded pained. "You're retiring?"

The older gentleman chuckled.

"No need to act so surprised, Mr. Stark. It's well past due. I've been with this company far longer than I'd actually like to admit and I don't have that much time left. I'd like to get out and enjoy the world a bit before that time comes."

"Of course," his person allowed. "Just know you'll be sorely missed when you're gone. I don't know how we're going to replace you."

The man chuckled lightly.

"Well you have some time to decide. I'm not leaving till the end of the year, after all. I've also prepared a selection of possible candidates for you all to look through. Bright, young things like you once were." He sent a wink in the genius's direction. "You know, I still remember your first day with the company. Everyone thinks about when you were 21 and finally took over, but I thought you were brilliant just running the R&D department. All those senior employees just scrambling to keep up with you! Even back then you were light years ahead of your time."

"We've got a pretty good team in place now."

"And I'm sure you'd still invent circles around them if you didn't have all these other distractions. Superheroes!" He huffed out a laugh. "Who would have thought it, eh?"

His person laughed.

"I still find myself struggling to believe it from time to time, too."

Another of the board members chuckled.

"My kids are _obsessed_ ," he said. "They get into fights all the time about who the best one is. Of course their favorite changes about every five minutes."

"Perhaps there's something in that," the woman who was sitting next to the repulsive man threw in. "The Avengers copyrights are already held by Stark Industries, isn't that right?"

"In name only, but yes. All the royalties from them are funneled directly to the Avengers themselves," his person supplied. "There's no interest in turning them into something overtly commercial."

The woman nodded in understanding.

"Of course, and I'm not saying we should. Right now, though, the image of the team is being handled by different firms all over the globe, whoever takes an interest can get a piece of the action as long as they pay their share. It may be advantageous to both Stark Industries and your team for SI to take a more active role in shaping what commercial products are actually put to market."

His person hummed in thought as he leaned back in his seat.

"It's not a bad idea, but it's still too early to say for sure. Put together a proposal and I'll set up a meeting with Captain Rogers. It'll be his final say in the matter."

"Consider it done, sir."

"No guarantees, you understand."

"Of course, Mr. Stark. I never considered there would be."

"Good." He beamed, his pride in his people obvious to anyone. "Is there anything else or are we done here?" A shrill noise broke through the air of the room, making the Wolf jump and his person curse. "Looks like we're done regardless, ladies and gents."

"Go," the old man waved him off. "Save the world."

The Wolf followed his person out of the room as he pulled a phone from his pocket and quickly dialed. They headed straight for the elevator.

"Hey, Steve, we're headed up now…Yeah, Bucky's with me. What do you want to do about him?"

The Wolf huffed and let out a low growl as he pushed himself against his person's hip. The man flicked his gaze down to look at him.

"I think he wants to come with, actually…I don't know! Bucky would hate it but I'm pretty sure the Wolf will pitch a fit if he gets left behind…Well that's why you're team leader, isn't it? You're the one authorized to make these sorts of decisions. Hold on, we just got to my lab. J, pick up the call, if you would."

His person immediately tossed the phone onto a worktable and began stripping off his suit until he was just in an undershirt and slacks. He sent a wink the Wolf's way.

"That's Armani. Pep'll kill me if I get wrinkles in it."

"Tony?"

"Yep, Steve. I'm here. Getting the armor on now."

He stepped up into a platform as a number of mechanical arms began attaching the Iron Man suit. The Wolf whined as his person was sealed away.

"I'm just not sure, Tony," a voice the Wolf recognized as belonging to the vampire rang out through the room. "I don't want to make the wrong choice here."

His person frowned down at the Wolf as the last of the suit assembled itself, the faceplate instantly sliding upwards.

"I think we should take him."

"You think so?"

"Jesus, Steve, isn't that what I just said?" He stepped off the platform and the Wolf followed him back toward the elevator. "We're headed up now. See you in a minute."

The vampire was in full uniform when they reached the landing pad, pacing back and forth by the ramp onto a quinjet. He swept them both over with a worried glance.

"You know Bucky will never forgive himself if something happens."

Metal fingers reached out to run gently along the Wolf's spine.

"And if we leave it up to him he'll never try. The Wolf isn't the enemy, Steve."

"I know that."

"Yeah, but Bucky doesn't. It's about time he figured it out."

"You're serious about this, then?"

The vampire looked skeptical but the Wolf's human just walked right past him with werewolf in tow.

"As a heart attack. And I'd know a thing or two about those." He shot the vampire a furtive look. "Besides, I have a feeling we're going to need him on this one."

One blonde eyebrow arched upward.

"A Natasha feeling?"

The Wolf's person pouted.

"They're _my_ feelings. I'm the one who has them."

"Yeah, but Natasha's the one who finds them so horribly suspicious."

The rest of the team eyeballed the trio as they entered the quinjet. The archer with the glowing eyes twisted around in the cockpit.

"The Wolf's coming, too?"

The Wolf ignored him and instead stuck close to his person's side.

"Tony has a Natasha feeling."

The genius grumbled.

"I told you, they're _my_ feelings."

The drider leaned forward a bit from her seat opposite. The Wolf curled his lip at her in warning. She ignored him.

"So you admit your feelings are supernatural in nature."

His person glared.

"No. But they're still my feelings either way." The Wolf leaned into his side. "See? He's on my side."

The archer rolled his eyes and turned back to the controls, starting up the craft.

"Doesn't count. He's always on your side."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The Wolf did not like battle, but that did not mean he was unfamiliar with it. He was also very good at it. That didn't mean he felt much of a need to get involved now. His person stayed above the action, for the most part. He flew overhead in that metal suit of his. The Wolf found it extremely irritating. How was he supposed to keep his person safe if he wasn't even able to stay with him?

He skirted the perimeter to for the fight, keeping an eye on his person as well as the vampire whom he had claimed as his pack. The others he mostly ignored. They had not earned pack status. They mattered only in that they were important to his person. He took out a few of the enemy here or there, if they proved themselves to be a threat. He did not waste time as he saw some of the others doing, trying to incapacitate them. He simply ripped their throats out.

By the time he caught up with the vampire, his maw was dripping blood. The blonde did not seem amused, but it mattered little as the Wolf leapt over him to down another opponent. That made four enemies he had chosen to engage and four that had died between his teeth. He lifted his head to track his person with his eyes. The red and gold suit streaked across the sky, jets of blue light taking down enemies as it went. The Wolf felt a surge of pride at his person's effectiveness. He had picked an excellent mate to be one so proficient in battle. He would make a fine beta for the Wolf's pack.

It was around that time that everything went to Hell. There was a high pitched whine that sailed through the air, making both the werewolf and the vampire flinch and duck their heads. The projectile hit the Wolf's person dead on, sending the suit tumbling to the ground with no sign of slowing until it disappeared behind several buildings. The sounds of a crash and a plume of smoke followed only moments later.

The Wolf took off at a run, the vampire right behind him. He could hear the other calling for his person over the com units, but it seemed that his person did not answer. The vampire cursed. They darted across the space as quickly as they could, emerging by the crash site just in time to see several enemy operatives closing in on the downed figure. The vampire showed no signs of caring how the Wolf dealt with these enemies.

The Wolf stood guard as his packmate examined the fallen suit. One side of the armor was charred black, cracks running across its surface. The Wolf couldn't tell if the scent of blood in the air was from their enemies or his person. The vampire was sliding his fingers along the seams of the armor, undoing latches as he lifted it off piece by piece. What he revealed was not a pretty sight.

His person was still conscious, a good sign the Wolf was sure, but the side that had taken the explosion was a mess of blood and splintered metal. His person's entire body shook with the evident pain, sweat dripping from his forehead and wetting his hair. The Wolf whined and danced on his paws as he glanced back and forth between his person and the vampire. The vampire's eyes had bled almost completely black, a sure sign of rage.

"I know, Buck, I know," he still attempted to comfort the Wolf. "We're gonna get him help, okay? Tony's gonna be just fine." More to himself he added, "He _has_ to be just fine."

He lifted a hand to his com unit and began speaking urgently into it, calling for a med team. The Wolf took up the sentry position once again, eyes sweeping the area for enemies and ears standing on high alert. He hated that his nose was all but useless with so much smoke and gunpowder in the air. He only turned his attention back to the vampire when he heard the other curse. One pale hand dragged itself through blonde hair as the vampire glanced around before looking back at the Wolf's person, to the Wolf, and then back again.

"Alright," he said, seeming to come to a decision. "I don't really know how much you can understand real time but here's the situation. There's no way medics can get in here right now with all this fighting going on. The only way they'll be willing to risk it is with an escort and that means me."

The Wolf growled.

"I know. Trust me. I don't like it either," the vampire placated, "but if we don't get them in here then I don't know what's going to happen to Tony and I can't risk that. We need them here as soon as possible. That," he pointed at the genius's side, "that's not good. It needs medical attention."

The Wolf whined and danced some more. He couldn't let something happen to his person.

"Listen, Bucky," the vampire placed a hand on his bionic shoulder, "I need you to stay with Tony, okay? I need you to keep him safe. For both of us."

The Wolf bared his teeth viciously and skirted away from the vampire to stand over his person's fallen form. The blond smiled at him.

"Good. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Then he was gone, darting away with the kind of super-human speed only a vampire could possess. The Wolf cast a glance around the area before dipping his head a bit to lick at his person's cheek. His ears remained cocked for approaching enemies. Beneath him, his person groaned and tried to shift before hissing in sharply. The Wolf whined and nosed his cheek. He felt a good bit better once the man managed to crack his eyes open just a bit.

"Hey, pup…"

His person sounded exhausted and the Wolf took another look around. If enemies were to come upon them now, his person would be a sitting rabbit. The thought alone made him bare his teeth with distaste.

"Woah, now," his person managed. "What's that look for?"

He tried to shift again only to cry out in pain. The Wolf pressed one paw to his person's chest, laying his forearm across it in an attempt to tell the man not to move. Between his actions and the pain, the message seemed to get across.

"What happened?"

The Wolf whined and placed a few small licks along his person's jawline before lifting his head to continue his watch.

"Right. Stupid question. Not like you can answer me."

The Wolf's ears pricked as he picked up footsteps approaching and he crouched protectively over his human. As soon as the enemy soldiers came into sight, he burst into action. The first two went down in seconds, but the remaining three had enough time to attempt to martial themselves into some kind of order. They opened fire on the Wolf, yelling things he didn't even bother to listen to.

One attempted to edge around him as the other two drew him away with gunfire. The Wolf saw through him instantly and refused to play along. He got a bullet to the meat of his left hind leg, but the man trying to get around him lost his life. The others fell soon after and the Wolf stood panting for a moment before limping his way back to his person. He could feel blood dripping down into his fur, but he paid it no mind. There were more important things to focus on.

His person had started to drift again by the time he made it back and the Wolf had to nuzzle him several times in order to bring him back. His honey-colored eyes were bleary and refused to focus , despite the man clearly trying. His breath was coming in short little bursts and the Wolf was pretty sure that wasn't a good thing. He whined pitifully and licked his person's face some more, trying to keep his present and conscious. Something deep inside told him that was the thing to do.

A glance at the man's wounds showed an unsettling amount of blood beginning to pool on the ground beneath him. The Wolf debated for a moment whether or not to try pulling a few of the metal pieces out with his teeth but decided against it. He couldn't be sure he wouldn't do even more damage in the process.

Minutes stretched by, each its own eternity. His person never fully roused again, much to his worry and displeasure. He seemed to linger in a state of half-consciousness, occasionally murmuring something so quietly that not even the Wolf's enhanced hearing could pick it up. He was draining of color, too, becoming nearly as white as the vampire who had gone for help. It was far too long before said vampire finally returned.

The medics set to work immediately, putting pressure on his person's side and talking rapidly to one another. They didn't even spare a glance to the fallen bodies around them, but the Wolf supposed that was only to be expected of medical personnel. It wasn't long before they had a drip going and were lifting his person onto a stretcher.

"Are you ready, Captain?" the woman in charge asked in a no-nonsense tone that the Wolf could fully appreciate.

The vampire nodded.

"Let's move out."

The Wolf went with them as they carried his person out of the fighting, staying close behind them but being careful to stay far enough back not to trip them up. If they did anything to hurt his person, they would die a bloody death by his fangs but for now he would trust them. He didn't have much of a choice in the matter. It didn't take long for the vampire he trotted alongside to notice his limp.

"Were you injured?"

The Wolf let out a growl but largely ignored him. Now was absolutely not the time. The bullet had been an easy through-and-through shot. It wasn't like he still had anything lodged in his leg. As soon as they got his person taken care of he would lick his own wounds and that would be that. He'd had far worse before and survived. This was practically a minor injury in the grand scheme of things. At least the vampire seemed to accept his dismissal for the time being.

They met several more enemies on their way back to the safe zone, but were able to avoid the worst of it. The vampire made short work of the ones they did encounter, the Wolf holding a back-up position that went entirely unneeded. It didn't seem to take them as long to get out as the Wolf had been waiting for them. He supposed, though, that it really wouldn't.

The medics tried to stop him from getting in the ambulance with his person. It wasn't a good move. The vampire stepping between them was the only thing that held him back from attacking, but he was certainly not pleased. His teeth remained bared at the people trying to separate him from his person. The vampire glanced at him once before turning back to the medics with a stony expression.

"He goes wherever Tony goes."

The woman who had spoken earlier, clearly the alpha of this pack of medics, actually dredged up the courage to protest.

"Captain, I understand your position in this, but that's agains-"

" _He goes where Tony goes,_ " the vampire cut her off. "End of discussion. The only exception would be while Tony is in surgery and then this wolf had damn well better be in the observation room. The team and I will be along shortly. We won't be staying for clean up."

The woman grit her teeth, clearly not on board with the decision but knowing a losing fight when she saw one. The Wolf scrambled up into the ambulance and did his best to stay out of the way. It wasn't easy in such confined quarters, but the medics worked around him without complaint. He licked at his person's fingers where they hung limply off the side of the bed. Now that they were no longer in the fight, he allowed his ears to plaster back against his skull as he let out the occasional whine. He knew his person had long lost consciousness, but he couldn't help hoping to provoke some reaction out of him.

The young man among the medics kept shooting him worried looks and immediately took on the job of guiding the Wolf through the hospital once they got there. The crowds in the hallways were difficult for the Wolf to navigate and the young medic hung back with him. He guided the Wolf into an empty room with windows all along one side. A team of doctors and nurses were already in the room on the other side, surrounding a table where a figure was covered by a blue sheet, only wounds exposed. The Wolf instantly recognized the bits of metal jutting out of the mangled skin and hopped up to press his front paws against the bottom of the window and give himself a better vantage point.

"Dr. Shaw is the best surgeon in the hospital," the man told him. "Mr. Stark is in excellent hands."

The Wolf mostly ignored him, hopping down from the edge of the glass and pacing the length of the room before returning to his previous position. He whined at the glass but there wasn't exactly any way for him to get across to the other side.

"Do you want me to take a look at your leg? My brother's a werewolf, doesn't really trust hospitals and refuses to go to a vet. I'm the only one he'll let check on him so I've got a bit of experience. It's why Charice sent me with you."

The Wolf gave him a long stare before finally ambling over. He'd let the medic do a basic check, he decided, but that was it. He wanted to keep his full attention on the surgery happening in the other room. No matter what, his person was his top priority. The medic seemed to sense this and made sure not to block his view of the windows.

"You're lucky," he attempted to continue his one-sided conversation. "Looks like it was a clean shot. Some bandages and a couple weeks' worth of rest and you should be good as new. Stay here, okay? I'll go get the bandages. Be right back."

As if the Wolf had any plans of leaving. He knew the wound would heal faster than the young medic had predicted. He'd always been a fast healer. He'd be back to normal in a week and a half at the most. He watched the team in the other room flutter around his person, pulling pieces of twisted metal delicately from his side and attempting to staunch each new flow of blood. What looked like an entire army of gauze strips were already heaped into a crimson mountain inside of a stainless steel bowl. It didn't help that the Wolf could smell nothing but antiseptic and the leftover stench of various grief and worry that soaked the room.

The young man returned not long after he left, carting a whole armful of supplies. He placed a small bin with a hazard logo on it off to one side before soaking a cotton ball in clear liquid from an unmarked container.

"Just some alcohol to clean the wound with," he assured the Wolf before making any moves toward him. "It'll sting a bit, but we don't want the bullet hole getting infected. Is that alright?"

The Wolf huffed and let the man take that as approval, eyes remaining on the scene before him as the medic began cleaning his wound. He was remarkably gentle, compared to many of the treatments the Wolf had received in the past and he took a mental note of it. He hoped the doctors in the next room were being as gentle with his human, even though the man was not conscious to feel it. He only glanced back at his own medic when he felt the hands on his leg pause.

"Now that I'll looking at this closer, I think I really should stitch it up."

The Wolf growled, letting the young man know exactly what he thought of that particular set up. He held up his gloved hands in a show of surrender.

"Alright, alright. No stitches. You're in charge here. Just bandages it is."

He wound long sheets of white gauze around the Wolf's leg, making sure they were tight enough to keep pressure on the wound without being tight enough to be uncomfortable. The Wolf appreciated the consideration and didn't even mind that much when the medic stripped off his gloves and stuck around.

"I've got permission to stay with you for as long as needed," he said when he inevitably started talking again. The Wolf decided it reminded him a little bit of his person, so it was rather tolerable. "Or at least until your team gets here."

The Wolf paced the room a bit more, becoming restless as the surgeons in the next room began stitching closed the various lacerations all along his person's side. It did not make him feel any better to see how much blood his person had lost. He hated it, actually. If he'd taken better care of his person, this never would have happened. It was unacceptable. He let out a savage sound that had the young medic jump in his seat.

"I know you probably don't want to hear it right now, but he's going to be okay. I mean, of course you want that to be the case but you just don't want useless platitudes." The medic frowned as he seemed to try and martial his thoughts into order. "What I mean to say is that I can tell from the readings on the machines and how the doctors are behaving." He gestured through the window. "He's stable. That's a good sign."

The Wolf figured that had to count for something and paced the room a few more times before taking a seat at the young man's side. His leg was hurting anyway. His person wouldn't like it if he was in bad shape when the man woke up. The medic gave him a tentative smile but made no move to initial contact, which the Wolf was grateful for.

"Ironman's strong. I mean, he's the only _normal_ human being on a team of supernatural heroes. A guy's gotta be pretty tough to pull that off, right? Plus he survived that whole kidnapping thing even before he was Ironman, not to mention all the stuff he's made it through since then. No way something like this takes him down." He sent a bit of a smile in the Wolf's direction. "No way."

The Wolf appreciated that, actually, and the medic was absolutely right. The Wolf would not choose someone weak to be his mate. It would never be acceptable. His mate was strong and fierce and there was nothing that could hold him down. He just needed to have a little faith.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Bucky jerked out of his light doze the moment he heard the slightest rustle of the hospital sheets. His eyes darted over to the bed where Tony lay. The werewolf had refused to leave the entire time they'd been there, never once leaving whatever room the genius was in unless it was absolutely necessary. The rest of the team had arrived before Tony was even out of surgery and Steve had joined Bucky for his vigil. The vampire was now leaning over the form on the bed, having taken his turn on watch so Bucky could at least try to catch some rest. The werewolf was beside him in an instant.

Tony was still far too pale, but he was starting to get some color back. Bucky didn't like how frail he looked. Hospital beds always seemed to have that effect on people, he thought. His hair looked darker than ever and the werewolf knew there were a whole myriad of bruises under his hospital gown, not to mention all the lacerations along his side forming what looked like an abstract spider web. It was the first time he'd shown any signs of movement in the past four days. His face was scrunched up a little bit now and Bucky reached out for him, cupping his face with a hand and running his thumb over the genius's cheek.

"Tony? You with us?"

Honey colored eyes squinted up at him.

"Bu…?"

The werewolf grinned.

"Hey there. How are you feeling?"

Tony's gaze seemed to drift a bit before coming back to him and the man attempted a smile of his own. It was barely even a twitch of his lips.

"Really…really out of it."

He coughed a bit to clear his throat and gasped from the pain. Medication could only do so much, after all, and it was marked on the genius's chart that he didn't want any narcotics. Bucky was pretty sure there was a story behind that, but he wasn't about to ask. Steve grabbed a cup of water off the side table and held the straw to Tony's lips so he could drink. After a few gulps, he took it back. They'd been warned about giving Tony too much water right off the bat and his body rejecting it.

"What happened?"

The genius's hand fluttered weakly against the sheet like a downed bird and Bucky wrapped his own fingers around it, lifting it to press a kiss to the palm. Tony hummed his approval and relaxed a bit more into the bed.

"You got hit," Steve supplied. "It was an anti-aircraft missile at close range. The suit took a direct hit to the left side and you went down like a rock." His jaw spasmed with how tightly he was clenching it. "I'm still amazed the armor held up as well as it did."

Tony grinned, the warm rum scent of pride rolling off of him in waves. His eyelids had started to drift shut again, but he forced them back open.

"The suit's okay?"

Bucky snorted because of course, _of course_ , Tony would ask about the suit after waking up in a hospital bed.

"It'll need some repairs," he informed the inventor, "but nothing you can't handle. I'd prefer you designed the next one so it didn't splinter off fragments into your side."

Tony hummed, eyes sliding closed again before being forced back open.

"'sposed to absorb more of the impact. Less gets transferred to me. I can make the armor more durable but I'd feel more of the punches." He hummed again and closed his eyes. "Probably would have ruptured…a few organs…"

Steve grimaced down at the sleeping figure and Bucky couldn't say he felt much better.

"I know," the vampire swallowed thickly, "I know I can't make him stay out of these fights but watching this…Seeing him like this…"

He shook his head in disbelief. Bucky reached out to grip his shoulder.

"He's tough, Steve. He'll be alright."

The vampire couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the bed.

"Yeah, but for how much longer?" He finally looked at his best friend. "The rest of us, we've got all these enhancements to keep us safe. Hell, I'm practically indestructible! Tony doesn't have any of that."

"You're right," Bucky nailed him with a steely gaze, "but he keeps up with all of us anyway. Half the time he leaves us in the dust."

That brought a smirk to Steve's face, but he still turned away.

"I just need some fresh air. Gotta clear my head. I'll be back soon."

Bucky frowned after him but let him go. He didn't have any idea what was going on in that head of his. He hoped he didn't do anything stupid. He turned back to the bed when the fingers in his hand gave a little twitch. Tony wasn't waking up, just moving in his sleep. Bucky would keep an eye on Steve, but Tony was his main concern at the moment.

The genius woke up again every few hours after that, still as groggy as before and head all out of wack. He never stayed awake longer than a minute or so before drifting back into unconsciousness. Bucky hated it. He just wanted to be able to take Tony home and put him to bed and curl around him and never leave. The Wolf had gotten on Tony's hospital bed more than once before the full moon was finally over, but it wasn't like holding the genius in his arms.

It wasn't until early the next morning that Tony seemed to start coming back to himself. He woke up quietly, quietly enough that it didn't wake Bucky from where he sat in a chair and slumped over the side of the bed. The werewolf only woke up because of the fingers carding themselves through his hair. Steve had returned to the tower to check up on things there, so it was just the two of them. Bucky lifted his head to smile at the genius and the fingers fell away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"I'm glad you did." Critical eyes swept over the genius's frame. "You seem to be feeling a bit better."

Tony grimaced.

"I'm certainly feeling much more aware of how much pain I'm in. I remember waking up a few times before now, but not much. I know I got hit. What happened after that?"

Bucky moved from his chair to sit on the edge of Tony's hospital bed, his hand taking hold of the genius's.

"Steve and I got to you pretty quickly. We weren't far away. The Wolf stayed with you while Steve went for help."

Tony frowned up at the ceiling.

"I think I remember that, a bit. I dunno, it's pretty fuzzy."

"You were out of it. I'm surprised you remember anything at all."

Tony's brow furrowed as he frowned deeper.

"Did Steve get in a fight with the paramedics?"

Bucky snorted a laugh.

"It wasn't really a fight, but there was definitely some tension. It was more like he stopped a fight between them and the Wolf."

The genius's face cleared and he nodded in understanding.

"They wouldn't let you on the ambulance. I imagine the Wolf wasn't a big fan of that decision."

"Steve cleared it up quickly enough. After that it got better, for the most part."

One dark eyebrow rose and Tony's eyes glimmered with humor.

"For the most part? Do share."

Bucky snorted and leaned down to kiss the man softly of the lips, ignoring the genius's pout when he pulled away. They needed to be gentle for now. As soon as Tony was well again, they could move on to more exciting things.

"About the third shift after they finally got you into a room a nurse tried to remove the Wolf. It could have ended quite badly if Natasha hadn't intervened. The good news is that Clint nearly shot the nurse with an arrow."

"That's the good news?"

Bucky just shrugged and gave the genius a wry smile.

"Well, the Wolf sees him as pack now, so yeah. Oh, and the Wolf also appointed one of the paramedics to your permanent care. I'm pretty sure you're going to have to keep seeing him for a while."

Tony's chuckle quickly turned into a grimace and Bucky frowned, feeling terrible that he couldn't do anything more than stroke the other's hand in comfort.

"Okay, no more funny stuff. It hurts to laugh."

Bucky brought the hand in his grasp up to lay kisses all along the knuckles.

"Sorry."

Tony just rolled his eyes.

"You've got nothin' to be sorry for. Tell me more about this paramedic."

"His name's Charlie, some young kid whose brother is a werewolf. He treated the bullet wound and apparently the Wolf took a liking to him."

Tony's entire body froze and Bucky realized just a little too late what he'd just said and what that would mean.

"What bullet wound, exactly?" the genius asked with a forced casualness that promised disaster if Bucky even so much as thought about lying to him or trying to play the whole thing off.

The werewolf grimaced.

"It was nothing serious, I assure you."

"Oh, no, you just got _shot_. Why would I think that was serious at all?"

Eyes narrowed into a glare were sweeping over Bucky's form, trying to locate the wound and Bucky shifted with a sigh so Tony could see the bandages around his upper thigh.

"It was a through-and-through before the paramedics showed up." He grinned nastily. "The guy who did it wasn't so lucky."

Tony was squirming closer, moving despite his obvious pain, and Bucky pressed him back down.

"You still got shot," the inventor whined, even as he gave in to the werewolf's insistence.

"I'll be healed up in another week, tops. Don't worry your pretty little head over it." He nipped the end of Tony's nose. "Just worry about getting yourself better so you can come home."

The look Tony gave him was wide and pitiful.

"I could go back today. I'm sure Bruce is more than capable of taking care of me. He's a doctor!"

Bucky leveled him with a decidedly unimpressed look.

"If by 'doctor' you mean witch doctor. You're staying here until the hospital releases you."

Tony pouted.

"Pepper put you up to this, didn't she?"

"Haven't talked to her," Bucky grinned, "but she's been on and off the phone with Steve. These orders are all mine, doll."

"Oh, well, we all know how well I am at following orders."

Bucky smirked.

"I think you'll follow these."

"Really now?" He sounded skeptical. "What makes you so sure?"

Bucky leaned in close and trailed the tip of his nose along Tony's cheek, nipping at the man's skin as he went.

"Because I have plans for you when you get home, and you're going to want to be nice and well rested for them."

He could practically see the way the lust rushed through Tony's body. He could definitely smell it. He rumbled low in his chest.

"Yeah, that would be…pretty good motivation, I guess."

"You guess?"

Tony's hand rose up to tangle itself in his hair and the man dragged him down for a kiss.

"I'll be the best damn patient you've ever seen in your life."

Bucky snorted but kissed him again, smirking.

"Good boy."


End file.
